BagelFest: What I'm most excited about

BagelFest isn't until Sunday but there's a lot of exciting things happening before then.

Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). Along with free bagel reviews every Sunday-ish, we also offer weekly bonus posts. If you’re already subscribed, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription! Thank you for reading. Follow me on IG and Bluesky for more bagel content as well.

Credit: BagelFest

As I write this, I’m sitting in SeaTac waiting for my flight to New York. In a few days' time, I will be bageling more than I have ever bageled before in my life.

I will be at BagelFest.

Not only will I be attending the festivities, but I’ll be one of the 31 Expert Judges on hand tasked with selecting the best of the best at this year’s event.

However, there’s actually a lot more going on than just Sunday’s main event. Several other events are happening in the lead-up. Plus, I’ll be traversing not only New York City but also the Garden State, New Jersey. I’m only in town, but I’m packing a lot into this trip. In part because the content gods demand it. But also because there’s just so much to do.

I’ll do my best to provide ongoing updates on my IG and Bluesky before I write about the many, many, many bagels I’ll be eating. But to prep you for what’s coming, here are the 10 things I’m most looking forward to this weekend.

Finally visiting Teaneck Road Hot Bagels

All due respect to the many great New York City bagel shops, but this is the one I’ve had at the top of my list for a long time. You can’t find a reputable list of the best bagel shops in NJ (or America) without seeing this one near or at the top. The timing has never lined up before, but all roads lead there this time (namely, The Turnpike). This is likely to be my first bagel of the trip, so the bar for BagelFest will likely be high. Very high.

Meeting Bagel Businesses at BagelUp’s Growth Lab

Bagelfest features a who’s who of bagel shops and businesses from around the globe. But for those folks just starting out or still figuring out their recipe for success, Saturday’s Growth Lab is a chance to get feedback from industry experts.

Somehow, I am one of those industry experts.

Don’t worry, they’ll also be hearing from seasoned bakers, food entrepreneurs, and bagel shop owners, too. But I’m jazzed to have the chance to meet some up-and-coming bagelmakers and get a sneak peek at the bagels everyone will be talking about a year or two from now.

Participating bagel businesses include Bagelero, a Phoenix-based pop-up that makes “traditionally made bagels with a Mexican twist,” and Holey Dough Bagel & Co., which Bagel Ambassador Sam Silverman recently named his best bagel in Chicago.

Seeing Washington’s Bagel Shops Shine

As you know, two Washington bagel shops will be there and competing: Seattle’s Backyard Bagel and Gig Harbor’s B’s Bagels & Butters. I’m really excited to see them going toe-to-toe with some of the biggest names in the biz from NYC, Montreal, and elsewhere. Fingers are crossed that everything goes smoothly for them. I know baking in a new kitchen on the other side of the country can cause issues, but I have faith they’ll show up strong. And I’ll be sure to check in with them to see how the experience went, what they learned, and what the best part of being involved was.

Schmoozing and Schmearing

Word on the street is that a certain Seattle bagel purveyor will also be at BagelFest. I’ll be sure to say “Hey” when I see them. There will also be plenty of “bagel heads” in attendance as judges and otherwise, including Bagel Tawk’s Harvey Leeds, Everything is Everything’s Mike Varley, and Jewish cookbook author Leah Koenig. It’ll be great to meet some of the constants on my Instagram feed in person and schmooze over some schmears.

Finally Trying a Real Montreal-Style Bagel

Longtime readers know that the Montreal-style bagel has long eluded me, literally and figuratively. The ones I’ve tried have never justified their existence, and I’ve always wondered if the issue is the bagel or me. Montreal’s St-Viateur Bagel, long considered one of the icons of the bagel type, will be at BagelFest. It may not be under normal review conditions, but I’m excited to know where I stand on this important issue.

Listen to Bagel People Talk Bagels

BagelFest starts Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and runs until 4:00 p.m. I’ve got a lot of bagels to eat and plenty to do, but I’m going to make room to listen to a lot of bagel people talk about bagels. There are four industry talks that I’ll try to make, including:

• The Key to the Perfect Bagel: Nailing your ingredients to create the perfect bagel

• A Warm (Bagel) Welcome: Creating a hospitality-forward environment in your bagel shop

• From Toasted to Thriving: Decisions on product, production, promotion, and more that shaped these bagel businesses

• How to Scale Your Bagel Business: Key insights for scaling your bagel business

Having watched so many Seattle bagel businesses bloom in recent years, I’m curious to see what industry experts have to say about best practices and what might be missing to take some of them to the next level.

Judging Bagels!

Ultimately, I’m here to do what I do best. Offer pithy judgment on the hard work of others! I recently got my scoring sheet for the almost 30 bagels competing in categories such as “Best Bagel,” “Schmear of the Year,” “Most Creative,” “Best Showmanship,” “Best New York Style,” “Best Sourdough Bagel,” and “Best Montreal Style.” We’ll be judging each one on appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture. Each judge submits their scores and then, presumably, we argue over the results until the winners emerge.

I can’t wait.

Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my bagel review and want to read more of them, make sure you’re subscribed to It’s A Shanda. Know someone in the Greater Seattle Area (or beyond) who would appreciate way-too-detailed reviews of local bagels? Please forward the link their way.